Météo-France placed the Bouches-du-Rhône department on orange alert for forest fires on Tuesday.
An alert that means the danger is high.
The vigilance will be extended to Aude from Wednesday.
A fire hazard “locally very high”. Météo-France placed the Bouches-du-Rhône department on orange alert for forest fires on Tuesday, July 2. According to the Météo des forêts, created last year by the organization, this orange alert means that the “danger is high” with some “weather conditions that significantly increase the risk of the outbreak and spread of forest and vegetation fires compared to summer norms.”
The alert should be extended to Aude for Wednesday, as firefighters fear a particularly violent fire season due to the heavy rainfall in May and the development of abundant vegetation in certain areas.
Four levels of alert
To define the alert level of its Forest Weather, Météo-France takes into account weather forecasts as well as the dryness status of the vegetation. Four levels are defined: low (green), moderate (yellow), high (orange) and very high (red). The organization specifies, however, that “Forest Weather does not provide information on current or future fires” and “a low danger level does not mean the absence of fire risk in the department”, urging individuals to exercise caution, while nine out of ten fires are of human origin.
The south of France experienced its first major fire at the beginning of June, with 600 hectares burned in the Var Massif des Maures.
